Greene’s bill would eliminate the H-1B visa programme and remove the citizenship pathway.
A 10,000-per-year cap for medical professionals would be phased out over ten years.
Non-citizen medical students would be barred from Medicare-funded residency programmes.
A US congresswoman has announced plans to introduce legislation that would entirely abolish the H-1B visa programme, including the pathway to US citizenship for foreign workers, according to PTI.
“My dear fellow Americans, I'm introducing a bill to completely eliminate the H-1B visa programme, which has been riddled with fraud and abuse and has been displacing American workers for decades,” Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said in a video posted on X on Thursday.
The proposed bill would allow a single exemption, capping visas for medical professionals at 10,000 per year. Greene added that this cap would be “phased out” over ten years to enable the country to develop its own workforce of American doctors and physicians. The legislation would also remove the pathway to citizenship, “forcing visa holders to return home when their visa expires,” she said.
“These visas were intended to fulfill a specialty occupational need at a given time. People should not be allowed to come and live here forever. We thank them for their expertise, but we also wish them well so they may return to their home country,” Greene added.
According to PTI, Greene said her bill aims to restore the “original intent” of the H-1B visa, describing it as a temporary solution rather than a route to permanent residency. “Now this will completely end the H-1B visa programme and all other sectors in the job force and in the workforce. This is America first. It's time to put American citizens first instead of foreigners first, and this has been an abuse for far too long. Americans deserve a future. They deserve a chance. And I believe Americans are the most talented people in the world, the most creative, and I want them to have their American dream,” she stated.
To support the development of American medical professionals, Greene’s bill would also bar non-citizen medical students from participating in Medicare-funded residency programmes. She highlighted the issue, noting that last year over 9,000 US medical graduates were left without residency placements, while more than 5,000 foreign-born doctors received spots. “This is entirely unfair, and it's America last. My bill will help mitigate the shortage of doctors and nurses in our country, the shortage that we face while at the same time serve as an off-ramp from our reliance on foreign workers by allowing us time to fill our residency programmes with American doctors,” she said.
Currently, US law caps H-1B visas at 65,000 for regular applicants and an additional 20,000 for advanced degree holders. The programme allows US businesses, particularly in technology, to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. Indian professionals constitute one of the largest groups of H-1B visa holders, with the option to apply for permanent residency and citizenship after five years, PTI reported.
The Trump administration has already introduced measures to curb abuse in the H-1B programme. In September 2025, former President Donald Trump issued a Proclamation titled ‘Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,’ mandating that certain H-1B petitions filed after 21 September must include an additional USD 100,000 fee as a condition of eligibility.
(With inputs from PTI)
